Slot diffuser

ABSTRACT

A diffuser construction utilizing elongated parallel, spacedapart side walls interconnected by a bridge member having extensions fitting into channels provided therefor in the side walls. An intermediate wall is positioned an equidistance from the side walls and is held in firm abutting relationship with the bridge through the expediency of an assembly clip straddling the bridge and snapping the upper portion of the intermediate wall. Adjustable vanes slidably engage the surfaces of the intermediate wall and may be positioned to divert conditioned air passing downwardly between the side walls and out through a slot formed between the bases of the side walls.

'United States Patent [1 1 Brown [111 3,733,995 1 May 22, 1973 [54] SLOT DIFFUSER [75] Inventor:

[22] Filed: Apr. 12, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 133,292

Carlton E. Brown, Tucson, Ariz.

3,012,640 12/1961 Sluka ..287/189.35

Primary ExaminerWilliam E. Wayner Att0meyWilliam C. Cahill, Samuel J. Sutton and Edwin M. Thomas [57] ABSTRACT A diffuser construction utilizing elongated parallel, spaced-apart side walls interconnected by a bridge member having extensions fitting into channels provided therefor in the side walls. An intermediate wall is positioned an equidistance from the side walls and is held in firm abutting relationship with the bridge through the expediency of an assembly clip straddling the bridge and snapping the upper portion of the intermediate wall. Adjustable vanes slidably engage the surfaces of the intermediate wall and may be positioned to divert conditioned air passing downwardly between the side walls and out through a slot formed between the bases of the side walls.

4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTE rm 2 2 I973 sum 1 OF 2 R O T N E V m CARLTON E. BROWN ATTORNEYS PATENTEU MAY 2 2 I973 SHEET 2 OF 2 m -1 A E V W CARLTON E. BROWN SLOT DIFFUSER This invention relates to diffusers, and more particularly, to diffusers of the type that are flush-mounted in ceiling structures.

Flush-mounted diffuser mechanisms have become prevalent, particularly in commerical applications wherein false ceilings are installed. Elongated ceiling diffusers utilizing a single slot for the emission of conditioned air are of particular usefulness in certain applications; however, the ability to adjust the air flow exiting from the diffuser is important.

The use of adjustable vanes in a slot-type diffuser is shown, for example, in United States Letters Patent No. 3,302,550 Thomson assigned to the assignee of the present invention. In the slot diffuser described in that patent, vanes are readily positionable through the utilization of vertically extending vanesurfaces that are supported in frictional engagement with an intermediate wall position an equidistance from the side walls. The supporting frictional force is supplied through the use of a spring clip which urges the vane into engagement with the intermediate wall. An additional consideration involved in the manufacture of this type of slot diffuser is the ability to manufacture a variety of sizes with an absolute minimum of cost in parts and particularly in assembly labor.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a slottype diffuser that may more inexpensively be manufactured.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a slot-type. diffuser incorporating positionable vanes adjustably secured to an intermediate wall which,

in turn, is quickly and conveniently mounted to a spacer between the side walls.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a slot-type diffuser wherein the assembly of the parts is extremely simple and efficient to render the costof the unit less than that of prior art construction techniques.

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as the description thereof proceeds.

The present invention may be described by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG, 1 is an'exploded perspective view of a portion of a slot-diffuser constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view, partly in section, of the diffuser of FIG. 1 in its assembled form.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the diffuser of FIG. 2.

Referring now to the drawings, side walls and 11 may .be recognized as aluminum extrusions which, when positioned as shown in the drawings, form mirror images" of eachother. Therefore, a single extrusion may be utilized and, when cut, forms the appropriate cross section for either side wall 10 or 11. The side walls 10 and 11 include facing flanges 12 and 13 respectively positioned in edgewise opposition toeach other to define a slot 15 therebetween. Flanges 12 and 13 are. intended to be mounted in overlapping fashion with adjacent ceiling tiles (not shown) in the ceiling in which the diffuser is to be mounted.

Longitudinally extending channels 16 and 18 are provided. in side wall 10 while similar channels 20and 22 are provided in side wall 1 1.. A bridge 25 includes arms 26, 27, 28, and 29 extending therefrom, each terminating in a depending foot portion 30, 31, 32, and 33 respectively. In its assembled form, it may be noted that the foot portions 30 and 31 extend into channels 16 and 18 respectively, while the foot portions 32 and 33 extend into the channels 20 and 22 respectively. The engagement of the foot portions in the respective channels provides rigid spacing of the side walls 10 and 11, while nevertheless permitting the bridge 25 to readily be moved longitudinally of the side walls to therefore be positioned prior to locking the bridge in place. The assembly technique is therefore quite simple and the number and positioning of bridges, such as bridge 25, may then be determined in accordance with the requirements at hand and the bridges merely made to be dropped into place between the side walls positioned accordingly, and then locked into place. Locking may be accomplished in several ways and may most readily be achieved by simply swedging the upper edges 35 and 36 of the side walls 10 and 11 respectively as shown at 37 and 38 respectively.

An intermediate wall 40 having a T-shaped cross section forms a means for dividing the space between the opposing side walls 10 and 11 and also forms a support for adjustable vanes 41 and 42. The intermediate wall 40 is conveniently and simply mounted in the diffuser by placing the horizontal portion 45 of the wall into the recessed area 46 provided therefor in the bridge 25 and securing the wall 40 in place with a spring clip 50.

The spring clip includes a body portion 51 and a plurality of depending spring fingers 52. The body portion is placed into engagement with the top of the bridge'25 so that the spring fingers straddle the bridge and extend downwardly to snap over the horizontal portion 45 of the intermediate wall 40.

The diffuser has thus far been assembled by simply spacing the side walls 10 and 11, positioning the bridge 25 and locking same into place, inserting the intermediate wall 40 into the appropriate recess 46 of the bridge, and locking the intermediate wall in place with the spring clip 50. Of course, the sequence of assembly is not particularly important, it being only necessary to recognize that the entire assembly thus far has provided unusual flexibility in the positioning of bridge members and a minimum of assembly time.

The intermediate wall 40 includes an enlarged portion forming a camming ridge 40a extending along the lower edge of the T. Adjustable vanes 41 and 42 include vertically extending portions 43 and 44 respectively which slidingly engage the intermediate wall 40, including the camming ridge'40a. The frictional force between the vanes and the intermediate wall is induced by the use of the vane friction clip 60 which has been described in the above-identified patent. The completed assembly of any desired length would appear as shown in FIG. 3 with the vanes 40 and 42 appropriately adjusted to alter the path of conditioned air flowing downwardly between the side walls 10 and 11 and outwardly through the slot 15.

The sliding engagement of the adjustable vanes 41 and 42 with the intermediate wall 40 and camming ridge 40a enables the vanes to be adjusted to a withdrawn position, such as the vane 41 shown in FIG. 3. The camming ridge-40a causes the rotation of the vane as it is lowered, therefore resulting in the vane being capable of closing the slot 15. The camming action and rotation imparted to the vanes may be seen by reference to the vane 42 shown in FIG. 3. The camming ridge 40 a enables the utilization of adjustable vanes that are smaller than would ordinarily be required since the aforementioned camming action permits the more effective reduction in slot area or in complete slot closure without the utilization of a wide vane.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications may be made in the embodiment chosen for illustration without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, the plural longitudinally extending channels could be replaced by a single, rather deep channel on each of the side walls, such that a correspondingly deep foot depending from an arm of a bridge would provide substantial rigidity in the spacing between side walls. Further, while aluminum is the expected material from which the present invention would be constructed, it is entirely possible to use other materials with equal effectiveness.

1 claim:

1. A diffuser for mounting in a ceiling to provide an elongated slot therein for admission of conditioned air, comprising: a pair of opposed, spaced-apart elongated side walls, each having a channel extending therealong; each of said side walls having a flange along and perpendicular to an edge thereof for extending along said ceiling, said flanges positioned in spaced edgewise opposition to each other to define a slot therebetween; a bridge member secured to said channel extending along each said side wall and extending between said side walls for maintaining said side walls in spacedapart relation; an intermediate wall; a spring clip having a body portion and a plurality of spring fingers extending therefrom, said body portion mounted on said bridge member with said spring fingers extending into supporting engagement with said intermediate wall to support said intermediate wall between said side walls; said body portion straddling said bridge member with a pair of spring fingers extending downwardly therefrom on either side of said bridge member and wherein said intermediate wall is supported between the spring fingers of each pair of spring fingers.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1, wherein said intermediate wall is of a T cross-sectional configuration with said spring fingers extending downwardly to engage the horizontal portion of the T with the vertical portion of the T extending downwardly parallel to and equidistant from said side walls.

3. The combination set forth in claim 2, including at least one vane adjustably secured to said intermediate wall and extending toward said slot for deflecting air flow passing between said side walls and through said slot.

4. A diffuser for mounting in a ceiling to provide an elongated slot therein for admission of conditioned air, comprising: a pair of opposed, spaced-apart elongated side walls, each having a channel extending therealon g;

each of said side walls having a flange along and perpendicular to an edge thereof for extending along said ceiling, said flanges positioned in spaced edgewise opposition to each other to define a slot therebetween; a bridge member extending between said side walls for maintaining said side walls in spaced-apart relation, said bridge member including channel-engaging portions extending into the channel of each side wall; an intermediate wall secured to said bridge member and positioned to extend downward from said bridge member between and parallel to said side walls toward said slot, and terminating in a longitudinally extending enlarged portion forming a camming ridge extending along the lower edge thereof; a pair of adjustable vanes, each slidably engaging a side of said intermediate'wall and said camming ridge, said vanes being rotated by said sliding contact with said intermediate wall and said camming ridge. 

1. A diffuser for mounting in a ceiling to provide an elongated slot therein for admission of conditioned air, comprising: a pair of opposed, spaced-apart elongated side walls, each having a channel extending therealong; each of said side walls having a flange along and perpendicular to an edge thereof for extending along said ceiling, said flanges positioned in spaced edgewise opposition to each other to define a slot therebetween; a bridge member secured to said channel extending along each said side wall and extending between said side walls for maintaining said side walls in spaced-apart relation; an intermediate wall; a spring clip having a body portion and a plurality of spring fingers extending therefrom, said body portion mounted on said bridge member with said spring fingers extending into supporting engagement with said intermediate wall to support said intermediate wall between said side walls; said body portion straddling said bridge member with a pair of spring fingers extending downwardly therefrom on either side of said bridge member and wherein said intermediate wall is supported between the spring fingers of each pair of spring fingers.
 2. The combination set forth in claim 1, wherein said intermediate wall is of a T cross-sectional configuration with said spring fingers extending downwardly to engage the horizontal portion of the T with the vertical portion of the T extending downwardly parallel to and equidistant from said side walls.
 3. The combination set forth in claim 2, including at least one vane adjustably secured to said intermediate wall and extending toward said slot for deflecting air flow passing between said side walls and through said slot.
 4. A diffuser for mounting in a ceiling to provide an elongated slot therein for admission of conditioned air, comprising: a pair of opposed, spaced-apart elongated side walls, each having a channel extending therealong; each of said side walls having a flange along and perpendicular to an edge thereof for extending along said ceiling, said flanges positioned in spaced edgewise opposition to each other to define a slot therebetween; a bridge member extending between said side walls for maintaining said side walls in spaced-apart relation, said bridge member including channel-engaging portions extending into the channel of each side wall; an intermediate wall secured to said bridge member and positioned to extend downward from said bridge member between and parallel to said side walls toward said slot, and terminating in a longitudinally extending enlarged portion forming a camming ridge extending along the lower edge thereof; a pair of adjustable vanes, each slidably engaging a side of said intermediate wall and said camming ridge, said vanes being rotated by said sliding contact with said inteRmediate wall and said camming ridge. 